Why do we do it?

When I get done with a tournament, “war”, or practice, people ask me how did I do. The typical response is to give a rough summary of my kill-to-die ratio, recount any spectacular feat by or against me, and to list off the bruises, welts, swollen areas, or any other “souvenirs” I got. At that point, those who don’t get SCA fighting (or, presumably, any other recreational martial art) say something like, “and you do this for fun?” or, “why do you let people give you bruises?” (I’m trying to stop them, honest!). I’ve thought about putting together a “pros and cons” of SCA fighting versus MMORPGs, or SCA fighting versus watching pro sports, but I think it would come out sounding cheesy to anybody who isn’t a fighter. But today, in a blinding flash of insight, I came up with one damned good reason:

No beer ever tastes as good as the cold beer you drink when you are hot and sweaty and sore from a fight. Especially if that beer is given to you by one of the people you were fighting. I don’t care what brand of beer it is (and I’m pretty picky when it comes to beers), the worst swill will taste, at that moment, better than the best beer in the world tastes at any other time.… of course, I still prefer the post-fight beer to be a good one. 😀